


Lies

by UchihaCrow



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, I will write more tags later, Protective Uchiha Itachi at the end at least, Shimura Danzou Being an Asshole, Uchiha Itachi-centric, Uchiha Massacre, Uchiha Sasuke Needs a Hug, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, light humour
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26727532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UchihaCrow/pseuds/UchihaCrow
Summary: When Uchiha Sasuke meets Itachi unexpectedly things change. Kind of vague sorry... I don't know very well what will happen yet.
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is the first time I write fanfiction. So, please leave feedback. And kudos if you like it...

Uchiha Sasuke was tired.

He had been training for hours now. His muscles ached, his breathing was ragged.

Nevertheless, he called his chakra to his hand, gritting his teeth against the pain that swept over him.

Chakra exhaustion. Any ninja’s worst nightmare.

 _Monkey, Dragon, Rat-_ His hands swiftly formed the familiar signs.

Lightning began to flicker on his hand. The cries of thousands of birds filled his ears.

Naruto, he thought. How did you get so strong… Naruto kicking Gaara, confident and powerful. Naruto on top of a giant toad, facing off against the sand jinchuriki. Naruto holding back a monstrous snake, blood trickling down his face as he grinned. “Are you okay, you big chicken?”

Sasuke clenched his right hand around his left. He had been helpless. Helpless to save Sakura, the sand slowly tightening around her. While Naruto-

Anger tightened around Sasuke’s heart like a fist. It had been just like last time.

“ _Baby brother, you are pathetic_.” That cruel, cold voice slicing through the silence of the compound, like ~~big brother’s~~ Itachi‘s sword stabbing through the neck of their parents.

I will kill you Itachi, just you wait!

Hatred shined out of Sasuke’s eyes.

“Chidori!” he yelled, Sharingan blazing.

Sasuke stalked through the streets of Konohagakure, irritation apparent on his face. “Stupid-Kakashi,” he grumbled, dodging a couple holding hands and engaging in very public displays of affection.

Sending one of his dogs to ask Sasuke to meet him at a tea shop, then blowing him off. _“Later”_ Sasuke recalled he had said. _“I’ll see you later. Come to my house, there’s something I have to do now.”_

His visible eye curving into an apologetic crescent before he body flickered away, leaving Sasuke dumbfounded.

Saying that Sasuke was annoyed would be an understatement. He particularly hated it when someone told him later.

The gloomy atmosphere on the streets did not help his mood. The villagers talked quietly, grief apparent on many faces. It was only natural, Sasuke supposed. It was only a few days since Orochimaru had attacked Konoha, only a few days since the Third Hokage had died.

It would take time for the grief to fade. Or at least that was what people said. It hadn’t worked that way with Sasuke. In fact, his grief had only gotten-

The smell of ramen jerked him from his thoughts. Ichiraku ramen seemed to be the only exception. The usual long line extended into the street. Sounds of laughter and chattering punctuated by loud slurping filled the air.

Sasuke scowled. Naruto would be there stuffing his face. As always.

He turned left into a narrow alley, finally reaching Kakashi’s house. He knocked and waited. There was no answer. Sasuke knocked again, louder this time. Still no answer. Growing impatient, was Kakashi deaf or something? Sasuke put his hand to the doorknob and turned.

To his surprise, the door creaked open. Sasuke froze, apprehension beginning to rise in his stomach. Even though he knew little of his sensei’s past, he knew enough to know that Kakashi would never leave the door unlocked. He carefully stepped inside. “Kakashi?” he called softly, almost unwilling to break the silence.

He climbed up the stairs his footsteps muffled on the carpet, a fear he had only felt once before invading him.

 _Stepping into his house, an unnatural silence filling the air. Where were they? His mother should be there, she should be in the kitchen or upstairs but there was no one there. Standing in front of doors, pausing to take off his shoes. He couldn’t move, why couldn’t he open the door. Fear freezing him, his hands were shaking. Sasuke swallowed, and slowly forced his arms to open the stupid doors. The sight that he saw forced a gasp from his lips. Mother, Father, was on the ground, and something dark and red was pooling around them. Pure horror filled him. He glanced upwards, there was a figure standing over them. Jet-black hair tied into a low ponytail. Cold, red eyes framed by long lashes_.

Sasuke stopped in front of a door that he guessed led to Kakashi’s bedroom. He stiffened, realizing he could hear low murmurs coming from the room. The boy looked down. His hands were trembling. Angrily, he shoved the door open, hastily pushing his hands into his pockets.

“Kakashi…” he started to say before realizing that Kakashi was in bed, seemingly unconscious. His gaze flitted to the jonin sitting around him. “Why is Kakashi bedridden?” he asked. “And what are all you jonin doing here…What the heck is going on?!”

He glared at them.

“Ummm, nothing.” Said Might Guy quickly, with a smile that was obviously intended to be reassuring.

“Is it true that Uchiha Itachi is back in the village?!” A slightly panicked voice said behind him. “And that he’s after Naruto?”

The man’s face fell as he noticed Sasuke standing in front of him. “Oh,” he said, the noise sounding ridiculously inappropriate for the situation.

“Idiot!” Kurenai swore glaring daggers at Aoba. Guy facepalmed.

Sasuke stared straight ahead an expression of pure hatred on his face. _Uchiha Itach_ i. The words echoed in his mind before being replaced by _He’s after Naruto. He’s after_ _Naruto?_! Sasuke immediately made a decision. He had to warn Naruto as soon as possible. He wouldn’t, he couldn't let Itachi hurt him. Without a second thought, he turned and ran out.

Hang on Naruto. he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where you get to know Itachi a little...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have always wanted to write this fight from Itachi's POV!!!!

A figure sat on a tall mossy boulder overlooking the green forest shadowed by towering mountains.

He had silky, raven black hair, a slashed headband, and a menacing, scarlet gaze.

The view was truly beautiful... thought Uchiha Itachi. He had missed the light breeze that played with his hair, had missed the quiet stillness of the woods.

(He missed Konoha too though he didn’t care to admit it, after all, he had decided that his path would lead him far from the village long ago.)

He indulged in a daydream of simply walking through the familiar forest, sunlight filtering through the trees. Perhaps training Sasuke with shuriken jutsu as he had promised so many times. 

Kakashi would be there too, reading one of his erotic books while leaning against-

“…on a whole other level”

Itachi caught the tail end of Kisame’s sentence, realizing it had been directed at him.

He mentally scolded himself. He _should_ have been paying attention instead of letting his mind wander.

His blue-skinned partner was already suspicious of his loyalties. He would have to hazard a guess as to what Kisame was speaking about.

“Yeah…” Always safe to agree. _Jiraya,_ Itachi remembered. They had been talking about _Jiraya_.

“If we face each other both of us would be killed. A rather unappealing outcome.” The Uchiha said drily.

He paused, carefully choosing his words. _Words,_ Itachi knew were particularly important in this stage of his plan. He had to convey the right impression of Jiraya, so he didn’t seem out of character when he left without fighting him.

“Even if there were more of us the result would remain the same,” Itachi said.

“I never thought I’d have to go up against one of the legendary Sannin.” Said Kisame. “If we fight him, then both the Uchiha clan and the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist will have their names dragged through the mud.”

“True… but still, even the strongest of opponents have a weakness.”

Kisame grinned.

The glint in his eye, along with his sharp, triangular teeth made him look just like a hungry shark that had smelled its prey’s blood.

“Did you have something in mind?” he asked.

Itachi took a deep breath.

Then he calmly began explaining his plan to his partner, ignoring the anxiety twisting inside him.

His idea was risky, but it was the best one he had.

It was the only way he could continue to sabotage Operation Capture the Nine-tails.

* * *

Itachi rapped on the door of a tiny inn in a small city and waited. He pulled up his collar, hiding the lower half of his face from view.

He would have asked Kisame to ~~slice~~ shred the door, (His partner was constantly reminding him that Samehada did _not_ slice), but he had decided to give Jiraya as much time as he possibly could. 

He had expected a member of the Sannin to notice his genjutsu fairly quickly yet Jiraya apparently, was more of a woman-chaser than rumours had let on.

Uchiha Itachi knocked again.

He activated his Sharingan, remembering his mother’s words from long ago. “ _A good first impression works wonders.”_ It was an utterly random memory, but now that he thought about it that had been his first day at ANBU…

 _“We already know Itachi_ ” His mother’s voice, just before he had stabbed her.

The raven-haired teen heard movement from behind the door. “I’m comin’, I’m coming’’ a boy grumbled.

Itachi arranged his face into a suitably composed expression.

A boy opened the door, a boy with spiky, blonde hair, and wide blue eyes.

“I never thought the nine tails would be sealed in this brat’s body” Kisame commented

The “brat” stared up at Itachi in confusion.

“Naruto, why don’t you come with us…?” the Uchiha said coldly.

Uzumaki Naruto stepped out of his room, and Itachi moved aside.

The jinchuriki looked as if he was going to bolt.

Kisame obviously came to the same conclusion as he said “Hey Itachi, it would be a pain in the neck if this kid were to run off.” “Maybe I should chop off a leg or something.”

Naruto’s face now had a look of pure horror.

Itachi was about to respond, he was going to say something along the lines of “That will not be necessary.”

This was exactly the type of situation he had been afraid of, yet he could sense a familiar chakra approaching fast, so he stayed silent.

“Right…” said Kisame approaching Naruto.

The blood lust emanating from behind them was so strong that Itachi had to concentrate on not wincing. The chakra was utterly different from the warm, innocent boy he had left alone in the street, but Itachi undoubtedly knew that the person behind him was his brother.

“It’s been a long time Sasuke…” he said without turning around.

Kisame turned in surprise. “What a special day, to see not one but two other Sharingan users!”

“Uchiha Itachi,” said Sasuke, his voice brimming with hatred. “I’m going to kill you.”

Itachi stared at the wall in front of him, his gaze unfocused. What was Sasuke _doing_ here?

“He looks an awful lot like you… Just who is that kid, Itachi?”

Kisame’s mouth was curled up in a grin, but his voice held an undertone of menace.

Kisame knew nothing of Sasuke, if he did he might start questioning why Itachi had left him alive. He could conclude that Sasuke was someone important to Itachi.

Well, the cat’s out of the bag already, thought Itachi dully.

There was no way of not connecting Sasuke to him, now.

“He’s…my brother.”

“That’s funny, cuz the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out, the way I heard it.”

Once again, Itachi suppressed a wince.

_Blood staining his sword, trickling on to his hands._

_Stabbing, slashing automatically, trying to suppress, to kill his feelings._

_The thump of bodies hitting the floor in the moonlight, dead._

_He had killed them all._

“…By you!”

It was a gentle rebuke, Itachi had expected Kisame to be angrier.

Well, he had never actually lied to him. He had just _never_ told him anything about the Uchiha massacre.

Itachi slowly turned to face his brother, looking into his furious red eyes.

There was still time, he decided. Itachi could still attempt to get Sasuke out of there.

“…Just as you told me to… I’ve resented and hated you…”

A part of Itachi felt a twinge of satisfaction, his brother had taken his words to heart.

(Part of him felt as if a kunai had slowly stabbed him between the ribs, how could he have done this to his brother?)

“And lived solely to… Kill you!”

Lightning crackled around Sasuke’s hand, the steady chirp of thousands of birds filled the hall.

“Chidori?” Itachi said in mild surprise.

Sasuke charged at him, destroying the wall.

There was pure anger in his voice.

Itachi lifted his hand.

_Clash!!_

There was a big almost circular hole in the wall behind Itachi.

He had grabbed his brother’s arm, shifting the attack.

They both heard Chidori ebb out.

Itachi stared at Sasuke’s face, careful to keep a mask of indifference.

Sasuke glared back in grim determination.

The air was filled with pure chakra. It invited fear and terror, a glimpse of a menacing power that hadn’t been used in 12 years.

Itachi looked back in alarm. In meeting Sasuke he had almost forgotten about Naruto.

“You…!” snarled Sasuke.

“You’re in the way.”

A sharp snap. The feeling of bone, breaking beneath his fingers.

A broken arm was a painful, non-lethal, easy to heal wound.

(Itachi shoved his guilt into the deepest corner of his mind. He could deal with it later.)

Hopefully, it would keep Sasuke down, and safe for a while.

“Aaargh!!!”

His brother fell to his knees in pain.

“Sasuke!!!” Yelled Naruto.

The concern in his voice slightly surprised Itachi, he had assumed Sasuke had been chasing after him, yet perhaps it had been Naruto he was trying to protect.

Itachi briefly wondered if Naruto was Sasuke’s closest friend.

The blonde boy started to make the signs for a kuchiyose summoning. “Too slow!” Said Kisame waving his sword around.

The nine tails chakra disappeared.

“What’s going on?” Naruto shouted still attempting to activate his Jutsu.

“My Samehada.. cuts through and devours chakra!” said Kisame.

“We don’t need this kid whipping out any more Jutsu.”

The blue-skinned man pointed his sword at Naruto.

“Forget those legs, maybe I should start with those arms."

 _Finally…_ thought Itachi.

As Kisame swung the sword a cloud of smoke appeared.

A large toad blocked his attack.

Behind it, a white-haired man with a woman slung on his shoulder grinned.

“You don’t know me at all. You should have done your homework,” the man said.

“The toad sage Jiraya falls victim to no woman’s charm. Beauties drop for _me_ like blossoms in a storm!!”

Jiraya thrust his hand out.

“A man like me isn’t wired to just blindly follow a woman like a dog. When you get to my level, women are the ones who writhe at my charm!” he shouted.

Itachi just stared at him.

He had only had to make that woman _wink,_ for Jiraya to follow her.

Loud and obnoxious.

Kind of like Shisui, Itachi thought.

As Naruto scolded Jiraya, “-Get on with it, pervy sage!!” Itachi studied the woman.

“Aah, Jiraya-sama touted as one of the great Sannin.” Kisame cackled.

“I didn’t think our delaying tactic would work that easily, but…”

As Naruto interrupted him, Itachi said, “It seems you’ve undone the genjutsu we put on that woman.”

Jiraya’s face turned serious.

He looked at Itachi grimly.

“Placing a hypnotism genjutsu on a woman to separate me from Naruto… What kind of coward would do something like that?”

“I know he’s the one you’re really after.”

Itachi’s mind raced, he could confirm that information and clarify it.

“…Now I know how Kakashi knew. …I see. So you were his information source.”

“To take Naruto with us is the supreme order given unto us by the Akastuki.” Said Itachi.

Jiraya glared at him, dispelling the summoning.

Itachi prepared himself for a brief fight before leaving.

“Sorry, can’t give you Naruto,” Jiraya said.

“Really…” Itachi responded sarcastically.

“…stay out of this.”

The words hung in the air.

“The only one who’ll do any eliminating is me…!

Itachi stared at his shaking brother. He had thought he had passed out.

How on earth did Sasuke intend to fight him with a broken arm?

Leave Sasuke, just leave, Itachi pleaded silently. If you stay I will have to…

“Go away… I have absolutely no interest in you.”

Even as he said the words Itachi knew they were useless. A look at Sasuke’s eyes told him that.

He kicked Sasuke. Hard.

His brother slammed against the wall with a pained grunt.

“Sasuke!!!” Naruto shouted again. He ran forward but Sasuke’s voice stopped him short.

“Naruto!!! …Don’t butt in! Mind your own business!!!”

Sasuke’s desperate voice made Itachi’s heart ache.

His little brother’s hands were trembling.

At this point, he should no longer be able to weave signs, he thought.

“This is my fight!!”

Sorry Sasuke, I don’t think this could be called a fight, thought Itachi.

He could feel Kisame’s gaze evaluating him.

He knew exactly what he had to do to make Kisame trust him and to make Sasuke stronger.

He just wished he didn’t.

_Thmp, Thmp,_ he slowly walked to his little brother.

“You’re mine!!!” Sasuke yelled, his voice cracking.

With a few brief blows, his brother collapsed on the floor in front of him, blood trickling from his mouth.

“No, mercy, eh?” Kisame grinned.

Itachi grabbed the boy on the ground by the throat and pushed him up against the wall.

 _Forgive me, Sasu-_ Itachi stopped himself. He had no right to ask for forgiveness. Not even in the safety of his mind.

He closed his eyes briefly, focusing his chakra.

He opened them again and stared into his little brother’s wide, horrified eyes.

“You are weak…” Itachi’s words echoed through his Tsukuyomi.

“For the next 24 hours… relive that day.” His voice sounded impossibly cruel, even for himself.

With his brother’s screams echoing in his ears, Itachi couldn’t hear what Kisame was saying.

“That’s _enough!!!”_ Screamed Naruto.

Jiraya rapidly wove signs.

The hotel corridor was swallowed by what seemed like pink flesh.

Itachi watched as Sasuke was half pulled in by the pink folds, and let him go.

Itachi’s feet began to sink in the slimy ground.

“Too bad, Itachi… and Kisame.” Jiraya’s voice was cold.

“You truly can’t escape me now, you’re in me!”

Itachi stared into his brother's unfocused eyes, his Sharingan returning to normal.

He could tell that Sasuke was still awake.

“You’re still too weak…” he said softly.

“You don’t have enough…”

_Become strong, little brother. It’s the only way to survive in this world._

_When I see you again…_

_You can fulfill your vengeance._

_I promise._

“…Hatred…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch... Poor Sasuke!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke gets a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things start to go a little different than canon here.

Sasuke could feel arms around him embracing him tightly. His shirt was wet, tears? Sasuke’s whole body ached, and the hug didn’t really help matters but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

He looked unbelievingly at the white wall. There were bright patches of sunlight on it. Sasuke felt numb, why was their light?

He had tried desperately to find even the faintest glimpse of it, tearing his eyes from his grandma and grandpa being stabbed and looking up at the sky.

There had only been an unforgiving night, a huge blood-red moon filling the blackness. Even the stars were under Itachi’s control, they were dim and muted as if they weren’t allowed to give Sasuke a shred of comfort.

The Uchiha swallowed, his throat was raw. His voice had disappeared after the first five hours of screaming.

He was so tired, but he didn’t want to sleep. He couldn’t face going back to the screams and the blood. He couldn’t face going back to _that_ night.

“Sakura… Sasuke’s probably exhausted, we should let him rest.” an unfamiliar gentle voice said.

“O-of course Lady Tsunade.” Sakura sniffled, pulling away.

Their voices sounded so far away as if the hug and the sunlight were merely a dream.

Sasuke’s eyelids were incredibly heavy.

He briefly struggled to keep them open, but finally gave in and let darkness overtake him.

* * *

The only sound in the hospital room was Sakura peeling an apple.

Sasuke sat on his bed lost in thought. It was a week since he had woken up and he felt better now. He expected to be released today.

Things were beginning to approach to something normal, yet Sasuke couldn’t seem to tamp down his anger at Naruto. They hadn’t spoken, but the pity in Naruto’s eyes made Sasuke want to punch him.

 _“Go away… I have absolutely no interest in you.”_ The icy voice had hissed at him.Then why had Itachi looked in alarm at Naruto?!

Sasuke clenched his fist, gripping the thin blanket so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He was _stronger_ than annoying, dumb, Uzumaki Naruto. But Itachi had looked at him, really looked at him instead of that condescending gaze he always gave Sasuke.

_“To take Naruto with us is the supreme order given unto the Akatsuki.”_

Sakura approached him smiling. In her hands were a plate of apples carefully cut into small, bite-sized pieces.

“Do you want some, Sasuke?” she asked cheerfully.

Anger flashed in Sasuke. He hated her pity, he didn’t _need_ to be taken care of. He was not weak. 

Sasuke slapped the plate out of her hands. It hit the floor and shattered, pieces of apple rolling everywhere. 

He ignored the confused hurt in her eyes.

She didn’t matter. None of them did.

He needed to be powerful, and nothing could stand in his way.

The door opened.

Sasuke started in surprise. There, walking inside was Naruto.

Sasuke felt his anger grow, a fiery inferno attempting to engulf him. There was no way this _loser_ was stronger than him. (Even though Itachi seemed to think so.)

“What?” said Naruto. “What are you glaring at me for?”

“Naruto” Sasuke said, and in that single word he put as much contempt, he could muster. “Fight-“

Kakashi appeared between them in a whirl of leaves.

Team Seven gaped at him. “Sasuke, dress, get ready to leave.” Kakashi’s tone was unusually curt.

“Wh-What?” Naruto yelled. “Why Sasuke?!”

“What are you talking about?” Sasuke growled.

“Now!” Something in the way Kakashi said that word implied that he would do something painful to Sasuke if he didn’t obey.

“Fine,” Sasuke muttered.

“But Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke’s still hasn’t recovered! He can’t leave now, he’s not even discharged yet!” Sakura’s voice was pleading.

“I am _fine,”_ Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

“But-“

“Good.” Kakashi cut her off. “I will see you at the front gates of the village in exactly ten minutes.”

“ Naruto… Sakura… I will explain outside.” He told the rest of Team Seven.

“What’s going on Kakashi-sensei!? If you are playing favourite’s again I swear I’ll-“ Naruto’s voice faded rapidly as he exited the room with Kakashi and Sakura, who paused and turned to look worriedly at Sasuke.

He glared at her until she left, shutting the door behind her.

Sasuke briefly wondered if he should wear his blue shirt or his black jumpsuit, before settling on the high collared blue shirt.

His jumpsuit was saturated in painful memories now.

He quickly shoved some essentials into his pack and put on his shoes. Before leaving he grabbed his forehead protector from where it lay on the table.

He stared at it for a moment, tracing the Konoha symbol with his finger. Then he tied it tightly on to his forehead and left.

He only had two minutes to get to the front gates.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Sasuke stood waiting.

 _Why did I even bother to hurry_ , he thought.

 _I mean this is Kakashi-sensei after all_.

As if summoned by the thought of his name Kakashi, appeared out of nowhere beside him. 

“You’re _exactly_ twenty minutes late,” Sasuke stated not bothering to hide his annoyance.

“Only twenty minutes late, that must be a new record for me,” Kakashi said quite unapologetically.

Sasuke’s eye twitched.

“Will you deign to tell me where we’re going and what we’re doing now?” He asked arching an eyebrow.

“Tsk tsk such sarcasm,” Kakashi said drily. “We are going to a tiny little village in the farthest corner of the land of fire.”

He motioned for Sasuke to follow him. “As to why… Well, because that’s the A-rank mission we are assigned to.”

* * *

“Let me get this straight,” Sasuke said pushing off from a branch and landing on a different one.

“The Uchiha founder Madara left a scroll with some, and I quote you “super-strong weapon.” He made air-quotes with his hands.

Kakashi rolled his visible eye.

“Only an Uchiha can get to it, and the entrance is supposedly underground, so its impossible to find unless you have a Sharingan.” Sasuke continued skeptically.

“You forgot to mention the dangerous traps and Jutsus we have to bypass.” Kakashi put in helpfully. “After all this is Uchiha Madara, we’re talking about.”

Sasuke scowled at him.

“As the last surviving Uchiha in the village,” he said. “Why didn’t anybody tell me anything before today!? And why do we have to find this scroll now?”

Sasuke crouched down and leapt onto the next branch.

“I have a right to _know_ about my ancestors.” He said angrily.

“We only found out about it last night,” Kakashi said.

“Lord Jiraya’s spy network only recently unearthed a scroll with this information.”

Kakashi looked at him.

“The Hidden Leaf suffered quite a bit of casualty with Orochimaru’s attack. To Konoha any weapon is a great help, you know?”

“Hnn,” Sasuke answered. 

Kakashi hopped down into a small clearing and took off his pack. “Let’s stay here for the night.” He said. “We’ll leave early tomorrow.”

* * *

Pounding rain fell from the sky, soaking anything under it in mere seconds. The air was foggy and clammy, and it was quite hard to see anything at all.

_What dreary weather._ Thought Uchiha Itachi, feeling his wet hair dripping down his back. They were in a cave somewhere in the land of Fire, having been caught by the rain.

Itachi frowned. He _hated_ the cold.

He struggled to suppress a hacking cough that ran through his whole body. Breathing was slightly painful, and he could taste blood in his mouth.

He pulled his Akatsuki cloak tighter around him and moved closer to the warm fire.

“Are you okay?” Kisame asked a touch of concern in his voice.

Perfectly well,” Itachi answered, staring into the flames.

“I think you are sick,” Kisame said bluntly. “Who knew Uchiha’s didn’t tolerate the cold.”

“It’s obvious. Water can consistently put out fire.”

“You should rest then, it will be easier to complete the mission if you aren’t feeling under weather.”

Itachi closed his eyes.

He would have to get up soon, find his medicine.

He shifted his weight to one side, tossing a small log beside him into the flames.

The smell of burning cedar filled the small cavern.

“Don’t worry. My health will not interfere with the mission.”

**Author's Note:**

> The next chapter is in Itachi's POV.


End file.
